5 ms·

I'd throw Apple in there and call it a "hate triangle": MS hates Apple and Google, Apple hates MS and Google, while Google... I don't really know.

freehunter 12y ago
Does MS hate Apple? I would wager they don't, since they have a patent cross-licensing deal with Apple and a couple partnerships (Apple uses Azure for iCloud and Bing for searching). Google definitely hates MS, as evidenced by how childish they act when it comes to Windows Phone. Apple hates Google, Microsoft hates Google, Google hates Microsoft. I'd say that's likely how it goes.
- Retra 12y ago
  Part of me is like "I can see how this makes sense," but another part is saying "this sounds like elementary school gossip..." The human brain: simplifying complex issues with anthropomorphism since forever.
- Apocryphon 12y ago
  MS hating Apple is like Apple hating IBM; they're old wars and now the former enemies are new allies. Google/Samsung is the current war. For future wars, who can say?
  - mrSugar 12y ago
    What's important is that they all hate the customer together... Or at least have a healthy disdain thereof.
    - Apocryphon 12y ago
      But Apple's whole M.O. is putting the customer first.
apetrovic 12y ago
I don't think that MS and Apple hates each other (by MS and Apple I'm thinking about leadership and the general sentiment among engineers). But I'm pretty sure that MS and Apple hates everything Google.
- ahomescu1 12y ago
  I don't know, but they are competitors in one huge market: desktop computers (sort of) and operating systems. If there's one company that's successfully taking down Windows, that's Apple (with Mac OS X).
  - ForHackernews 12y ago
    > I don't know, but they are competitors in one huge market: desktop computers (sort of) and operating systems. Kind of, but not really. Apple gives its operating system away for free, and sells hardware. Microsoft sells its operating system to OEMs and business customers. They aren't directly competing in the way that Coke and Pepsi are. And Windows (of some version) still has >90% market share for desktop OSes, so OSX is not a credible threat to Microsoft in that space. Microsoft's biggest obstacle in the desktop OS space is Windows XP.
    - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
      OS X is a credible threat to Microsoft in the high end desktop market, which is the only place where its OEMs can make money (and are not making money right now); the Windows ecosystem can't survive with 90% marketshare but only 40% profit share. But Apple is more concerned these days in selling iPhones, which makes them a lot of money. And Microsoft wants in on that (disclosure: Microsoft employee, but speaking for myself).
      - retroencabulato 12y ago
        No one in Silicon Valley gives a crap about desktops, all the growth is in mobile.
- 12y ago
Someone1234 12y ago
Google hates Amazon and Facebook. Amazon has been expanding outside of their core retail space (e.g. AWS, advertising, services, etc) while Facebook has been eating Google's advertising dollars for a while. I wouldn't go as far to say that Google doesn't care about Apple/Microsoft, but in both cases Apple has presents on their platforms and still makes money on them. They are only competitors if you view Android as something Google makes money with rather than something Google uses to advertise Google's services.
- zanny 12y ago
  > Facebook has been eating Google's advertising dollars for a while. All I've ever heard are horror stories about how advertising on Facebook does not work. I definitely don't see how ads on a social network can compete with ads on the largest search engine and almost every ad funded website in the world.
  - onethree 12y ago
    anecdotally, I've never intentionally clicked on a google ad, but there's so far been 2 ads on facebook which directly led me to a purchase
    - 72deluxe 12y ago
      Conversely, I have clicked on Google ads only to find that I have blocked the ad domain using my hosts file (which I had forgotten). I have never clicked on Facebook ads, as I don't have an account there. Weird, I know. Actually, I do have an account but only used it to write a Facebook app for a client, not for actual use on that mini-Internet (kind of like Geocities isn't it?)
  - lmm 12y ago
    HN is famously... not neutral in regard to Google. Not necessarily because anyone's doing anything nefarious, but because early users came from certain places and formed a certain culture. You won't get a neutral perspective on Facebook's effectiveness here. Facebook advertising has been very effective and profitable for at least some clients. I think Google+ shows that Google is terrified of Facebook. I have no knowledge of how Google's advertising revenue is doing, and wouldn't be at all surprised if they still dwarfed Facebook.

freehunter 12y ago

Does MS hate Apple? I would wager they don't, since they have a patent cross-licensing deal with Apple and a couple partnerships (Apple uses Azure for iCloud and Bing for searching). Google definitely hates MS, as evidenced by how childish they act when it comes to Windows Phone. Apple hates Google, Microsoft hates Google, Google hates Microsoft. I'd say that's likely how it goes.

Retra 12y ago
Part of me is like "I can see how this makes sense," but another part is saying "this sounds like elementary school gossip..." The human brain: simplifying complex issues with anthropomorphism since forever.
Apocryphon 12y ago
MS hating Apple is like Apple hating IBM; they're old wars and now the former enemies are new allies. Google/Samsung is the current war. For future wars, who can say?
- mrSugar 12y ago
  What's important is that they all hate the customer together... Or at least have a healthy disdain thereof.
  - Apocryphon 12y ago
    But Apple's whole M.O. is putting the customer first.

apetrovic 12y ago

I don't think that MS and Apple hates each other (by MS and Apple I'm thinking about leadership and the general sentiment among engineers). But I'm pretty sure that MS and Apple hates everything Google.

ahomescu1 12y ago
I don't know, but they are competitors in one huge market: desktop computers (sort of) and operating systems. If there's one company that's successfully taking down Windows, that's Apple (with Mac OS X).
- ForHackernews 12y ago
  > I don't know, but they are competitors in one huge market: desktop computers (sort of) and operating systems. Kind of, but not really. Apple gives its operating system away for free, and sells hardware. Microsoft sells its operating system to OEMs and business customers. They aren't directly competing in the way that Coke and Pepsi are. And Windows (of some version) still has >90% market share for desktop OSes, so OSX is not a credible threat to Microsoft in that space. Microsoft's biggest obstacle in the desktop OS space is Windows XP.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    OS X is a credible threat to Microsoft in the high end desktop market, which is the only place where its OEMs can make money (and are not making money right now); the Windows ecosystem can't survive with 90% marketshare but only 40% profit share. But Apple is more concerned these days in selling iPhones, which makes them a lot of money. And Microsoft wants in on that (disclosure: Microsoft employee, but speaking for myself).
    - retroencabulato 12y ago
      No one in Silicon Valley gives a crap about desktops, all the growth is in mobile.
12y ago

Someone1234 12y ago

Google hates Amazon and Facebook. Amazon has been expanding outside of their core retail space (e.g. AWS, advertising, services, etc) while Facebook has been eating Google's advertising dollars for a while. I wouldn't go as far to say that Google doesn't care about Apple/Microsoft, but in both cases Apple has presents on their platforms and still makes money on them. They are only competitors if you view Android as something Google makes money with rather than something Google uses to advertise Google's services.

zanny 12y ago
> Facebook has been eating Google's advertising dollars for a while. All I've ever heard are horror stories about how advertising on Facebook does not work. I definitely don't see how ads on a social network can compete with ads on the largest search engine and almost every ad funded website in the world.
- onethree 12y ago
  anecdotally, I've never intentionally clicked on a google ad, but there's so far been 2 ads on facebook which directly led me to a purchase
  - 72deluxe 12y ago
    Conversely, I have clicked on Google ads only to find that I have blocked the ad domain using my hosts file (which I had forgotten). I have never clicked on Facebook ads, as I don't have an account there. Weird, I know. Actually, I do have an account but only used it to write a Facebook app for a client, not for actual use on that mini-Internet (kind of like Geocities isn't it?)
- lmm 12y ago
  HN is famously... not neutral in regard to Google. Not necessarily because anyone's doing anything nefarious, but because early users came from certain places and formed a certain culture. You won't get a neutral perspective on Facebook's effectiveness here. Facebook advertising has been very effective and profitable for at least some clients. I think Google+ shows that Google is terrified of Facebook. I have no knowledge of how Google's advertising revenue is doing, and wouldn't be at all surprised if they still dwarfed Facebook.